Locking device for double-barrel firearms



May 6, 1941. F. ZEHNER ETAL LOCKING DEVICE FOR DOUBLE-BARREL FIREARMS 2Sheet-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 24, 1937 lnvemor: 5%

, Zl M w% May 6, 1941. F. ZEHNER ETA; 2,241,009 7 LOCKING DEVICE FORDOUBLE-BARREL FIREARMS Filed Nov. 24, 1937 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Patented May6, 1941 LGCKENG DEVICE FOR DOUBLE-BARREL FIREARMS Application November24, 1937, Serial No. 176,338 In Germany December 5, 1936 6 Claims.

This invention relates to locking devices for double-barrel firearms andhas particularly for its object to prevent double firing of firearmsofthis kind by an involuntary second pulling of the trigger which hadalready been pulled for firing the one barrel and likewise by aninvoluntary pulling of the second trigger.

In order to attain this, according to our invention we propose to equipthe said trigger system with a locking deviceincluding one or morelocking members which by action of their inertia presented against therecoil taking place on firing will first move into the path of theretractive motion of the pulled trigger and thereupon temporarily intothe path of said trigger subsequent to retraction, and also lock thesecond trigger during the entire motion of said locking member ormembers. i

In the drawings we have shown as an exemplification two forms of lockingdevices constructed according to this invention to be used in connectionwith double-barrel firearms.

'Our novel locking device in combination with the trigger system fordouble-barrel firearms is described herein below and shown in theaccompanying drawings in two forms of construction, which naturally mayalso be used in connection with trigger systems of a type other thanthat described herein and shown in the drawings.

In the drawings which form part of this specification, Fig. l is adiagrammatic side-view,

partly in section, showing a trigger system the same trigger system andlocking device, both in a position after having pulled one trigger, thatis in condition of firing,

Fig. 4 a further side-view, similar to Fig. 1, showing the triggersystem together with the looking device in still another positiondifferent from those shown in Figs. 1 and 3,

Fig. a detail-view of our novel locking device at an angle perpendicularto Figs. 1 and 2, and

Fig. 6 a side-view, partly in section, showing a trigger system and asecond form of construction of our present locking device co-operatingwith said system.

In order to more clearly describe our present invention we regard itproper, prior to describing the locking device, to more clearlyillustrate the aforesaid trigger system which is equipped with a lockingdevice according to our invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

on the strap l which forms the base for the breech of the double-barrelfirearm there are mounted two triggers 2 and 3 each having aplate-shaped extension or trigger-blade 5 and 6 swingable about a commonpivot 4, while a coupling rod 1 is positioned intermediate saidtrigger-blades. The coupling rod 1 is pivoted at 1ts front end as shownat 8 to a lever 9 mounted to rock about a pivot I0. At its rear end thecou-" pling rod 7 is'provided with two oppositely disposed lateralextensions II and I2, said extensions serving to engage with recesses i3provided in each of the trigger-blades 5 and. 6.

Above the coupling rod 1 there is mounted swingably about the pivot 4 afurther lever I4 extending with its beak i5 as far as to a catch it onthe coupling rod 1, said lever keeping the latter fixed in the positionshown in Fig. 1. A coiled spring. I! serves to draw the coupling rod 1towards the front by the aid of said lever B and, in addition, to keepsaid lever l4 depressed by the aid of a further lever 18, all as shownon the left-hand end'of Figs. 1, 3 and 4.

On each trigger-blade 5 and 6 there is provided a threaded bolt l9positioned underneath said lever i i and adapted to engage with a notchprovided in the lower face. Upon pulling one of the two triggers 2 or 3and the consequent upward rocking of the corresponding trigger-blade 5or 6 the beak l5 of lever M will likewise be rocked upward by means ofsaid bolt I9, the coupling rod 1 now being released and pulled towardsthe front by action of the coiled spring ll, until said rod abuts withon of its lateral extensions H and 12 against the nigger-blade which isin raised position, as shown in Fig. 3. In the position of thetrigger-blades '5 and 6 as shown in Fig; 3, the firearm is in conditionof firing the first barrel.

Upon releasing the trigger 2 which had first been pulled, the latterwill return into its initial position so that the recess l3 of therespective triggerblade 5 will again be positioned at the height 'ofthelateral extension H on the coupling rod 1. This rod consequently will bedrawn by the pressure spring I! on the lever 9 still further towards thefront, with the result that now the lateral extensions H and E2 on thecoupling rod 1 will engage with the recess l3 of both trigger blades 5and 6, so that these and therewith both triggers 2 and 3 will now becoupled with each other as represented in Fig. 4. Upon repeated pullingof the same trigger 2 now also the trigger-blade 6 appertaining to theother trigger 3 will be rocked upward so that now the second barrel maybe fired. Evidently the second barrel may likewise be fired by pullingsaid other trigger 3. If, on the other hand, the trigger 3 is pulled tofire the first barrel, the procedure is opposite to that which had abovebeen described, that is after firing the trigger 3 will be coupled withthe trigger 2.

Upon opening the breech of the firearm, the coupling rod 1 is againmoved into its initial position shown in Fig. 1 by means of an extensionnot shown provided on the breech slide.

Now, in order to prevent an involuntary or accidental second pulling ofthe trigger which has just been used to fire the first barrel, accordingto our invention we provide a specially constructed double-actinglocking device for the trigger system.

At first we will describe the locking device which forms part of theconstruction shown inv Interiorly of the strap I there is Figs. 1-5.mounted a loc-ln'ng member 2| rockable about a pivot 22. On firing, thelockingmember 2| will be rocked by action of its inertia against therecoil of the firearm first in direction of the arrow 23a, whileimmediately thereupon it is again rocked in opposite position, asindicated by the arrow 23, likewise by action of its inertia.

In order to assist the rocking motion of the locking member 2| indirection of the arrow 23a, this motion being caused'by the inertia ofthe locking member acting in direction against the recoil due to firing,said locking member 2| is resiliently coupled with a weighted lever 24whose rocking motion towards the left is prevented by the integral lug25 which abuts against the strap' Resiliency between the locking member2| and the weighted lever 24 is due to a tension spring 25 interposedbetween these two. The locking member 2| and the weighted lever 24 areprovided with a recess 21 therebetween as shown in Fig. 5, theextensions 28 on both trigger-blades and 6 protruding into said recess.Furthermore, said locking member 2| is provided With 'apin 29 extendingabove both trigger-blades 5 and 6, said pin 29 co-operating inaccordance with the temporary position of the locking member 2| eachwith a slot 30 provided in either blade 5 andfi or with the curved upperedge 3| of the extension 28 of said blades. The slot 30 moreparticularly is composed of two portions 32 and 33,)the former extendingfrom said curved edge 3| nearly but not quite coaxial with pivot 4 forthe trigger-blades 5 and 6 while the latter portion 33 adjoining theformer is coaxial with pivot 22 forthe locking member 2|.

The locking device so far described operates as follows: Uponpulling oneof the twotriggers 2 or 3, the locking member 2| will be rocked therebya small, distance against the tension of the spring 26 towards thefront, the pin 29 entering theportion 32 of the slot 38. The pin 29 nowwill be. positioned above the tongue 34 (Fig. 3) of the trigger-bladewhich is in position of rest and will effect locking of the latter. Onfiring, the locking member 2| will move by action of its inertia againstthe recoil in direction of the arrow 23a, while thepin. 29 moves in theportion 33 of the slot 3|] towards the front until it is stopped at theend of this slot as shown in Fig. 3. During rocking motion of thelocking member 2| due to the recoil on firing and during the subsequentbackward rocking due tothetension of the spring 26, this backwardrocking continuing until said looking. member 2| has arrived in itsinitial position, the trigger which had been pulled to fire the firstbarrel will be locked against returning into position ready for firing.The other trigger at present in position of rest will now likewise belocked against accidental pulling, the pin 29 abutting against the edge3| of the extension 28 of the trigger-blade which is temporarily incondition of rest.

After the recoil of the firearm has come to a stop at the shoulder ofthe marksman, the Weighted lever 24 by action of its inertia will berocked in clockwise sense (Fig. 4) against the pull of the spring 26 andagainst the pressure of the spring 35. Immediately upon'returning of thetrigger which had been pulled into position ready for firing, thelocking member 2| together with the pin 29 thereon will be drawn by thespring 25 above the 'rear portion of the curved edge 3| of theextensions'28 of the trigger-blades and move along a circle drawn roundthe pivot 22 for the locking member 2|. In this manner, locking of bothtrigger blades is accomplished as represented in Fig. 4. A secondpulling of a trigger to fire a second time is made possible only afterthe locking member 2| and the weighted lever 24 have returned into theirinitial position represented in Fig. 1 and after the coupling has takenplace in the meanwhile between the two triggers.

In the form of construction of the locking device so far described thereis provided for both triggers only a single lockin member 2| and asingle weighted lever 24.

Evidently also constructions of our new locking device are possible inwhich a locking member 2| and a weighted lever 24 are provided for eachtrigger. There are, furthermore, constructions possible in which aspecial weighted lever 24 is dispensed with.

Our new locking device may furthermorebe constructed in such a mannerthat the locking member 2| and the weighted lever 24 are each providedwith a locking pin 29. In this case the locking member 2| may be soarranged that it 'is held against being rocked from the positionindicated in Fig. 1 towards the right, in a way that the respectiverocking motion will be nnparted only to the weighted lever'24 totemporarily move into the path of the retractive motionof the triggerand to efiect locking by the pin 29.

'In Fig. 6 we have shown a modified construc tion of our present lockingdevice in which the aforedescribed locking member 2| and the weightedlever 24 which are rockable round a common pivot are replaced by a pairof "parallel 1 locking slides 35'and 31. In the present case thelongitudinally displaceable slide 35 is mounted in a frame-likeextension 38 of the strap and provided with a bore or recess 39, thenose 4!) of the trigger-blade 4| being positionedunderneath said recess.Said slide 35 is pressed towards the front by means of a coiled spring32 and abuts against a stop 43 on the aforesaid extension 38. Uponpulling the trigger, the nose ii! of the trigger-blade 4| will move intothe bore or recess 39 on the slide 36, as indicated by the full-dravmposition of the trigger and blade cl. 7

During the recoil due to firing, said second slide or bolt 31 which ismounted within the rear part of the outer slide 35 will be moved towardsthe front and caused to engage with a bore 44 at the rear end of thetrigger-blade 4|, this preventing the trigger from prematurely returninginto position for firing. On the other hand, the trigger may be free toreturn into this latter position after the slide 3? has been pushed backby action of the spring 42. During this returning motion of the trigger,the slide 36 will be given a backward motion due to its inertiapresented against the stopping of the recoil at the shoulder of themarksman which had taken place in the meanwhile. The trigger will thusbe locked against a second involuntary or accidental pulling, the slide35 being at this time in a position as indicated by the dash-dottedline.

In the form of construction of the locking device shown in Fig. 6 theremay be provided for each trigger an outer slide 36 and an inner slide orbolt 31. However, it will also be possible to provide a single outerslide 36 common to both triggers, while for each trigger an inner slideor bolt 3! must be present within the common slide 36.

We claim:

1. A locking device for preventing double firing of double-barreledfirearms with two triggers including in combination, an extension plateon each trigger, said plates being pivoted in substantially parallelplanes for lifting as a result of the pull of their respective triggers,a locking member mounted to be moved by inertia against recoil duringfiring, said plates and locking member being provided with cooperatingmeans so shaped and positioned that movement of recoil of the firearmmoves the locking member means into the return path of the plate meansof the pulled trigger, and additional means aiding the reverse movementof said locking member on counter-recoil to position said cooperatingmeans to then interlock and hold the now retracted trigger plate againsttrigger pull for a period.

2. A locking device as specified in claim 1, in which the locking memberis also provided with means cooperating with the plate of the unpulledtrigger to lock it during the entire motion of the member.

3. A locking device as specified by claim 1, including identicaltrigger-blades, each of which is provided with a slot and with a curvededge on each side of said slot, a pin carried by said locking member andextending over both of said trigger-blades and normally over the slotentrances, said pin adapted to be received, upon motion of one of saidtrigger-blades into firing position, within said slot therein, said slotbeing shaped to move said pin to bear against said curved edge on theother of said trigger-blades to prevent a firing thereof until saidlocking member has again returned into initial position.

4. A locking device as specified by claim 1, including identicaltrigger-blades, each of which is provided with a slot and with a curvededge on each side of said slot, a pin carried by said locking member andextending over both of said trigger-blades and normally over the slotentrances, said pin adapted to be received, upon motion of one of saidtrigger-blades into firing position, within said slot therein, and tobear against said curved edge of the other of said trigger-blades toprevent a second firing until said locking member has again returnedinto initial position, said slots comprising an outer portion extendingessentially in the direction of motion of said trigger-blades and afurther inner portion adjoining the former portion and following acircle drawn about the pivot for said locking member, while said edgeson said trigger-blades follow another circle drawn about said pivot,

5. A locking device for preventing double firing of double-barreledfirearms with two triggers including in combination, an extension plateon each trigger, said plates being identical and coaxially pivoted insubstantially parallel planes for lifting as a result of the pull oftheir respective triggers, a locking member mounted to be moved byinertia against recoil during firing to cooperate with either of saidplates, said plates and locking member being provided with means wherebythe first movement of recoil of said member moves its means into thereturn path of the plate means of the pulled trigger, said means beingconstructed to interengage and lock the same trigger plate afterretraction against trigger pull for a period initiated by thecounterrecoil, said locking member constituting a Weighted body pivotedto rock about a fixed axis.

6. A locking device for preventing double firing of double-barrelledfirearms with two triggers including in combination, an extension plateon each trigger, said plates being identical and coaxially pivoted insubstantially parallel planes for lifting as a result of the pull oftheir respective triggers, a locking member mounted to be moved byinertia against recoil during firing to cooperate with either of saidplates, said plates and locking member being provided with means wherebythe first movement of recoil of said member moves its means into thereturn path of the plate means of the pulled trigger, said means beingconstructed to interengage and. lock the same trigger plate afterretraction against trigger pull for a period initiated by thecounter-recoil, said locking member constituting a weighted body pivotedto rock about a fixed axis, a second weighted body pivoted coaxiallywith the first, and means whereby the masses of the two bodies areadditive in effect on counter-recoil only.

FRITZ ZEHNER. HANS ZEHNER.

